South’s
Invisible
Children
Club
“It’s good that Invisible Children is garnering all this social
awareness, but it’s also
giving people an opportunity to criticize
their efforts. Invisible
Children has always
been very open about
where their funds are
going. The South Salem chapter has felt
that giving money
through Invisible Children is the best way to
do it. We’re not doing
anything for 4/20 as a
chapter. We’re working
on a fundraiser,” Haley
Ehlers, leader of the
South Invisible Children Club, said

Cover The
Night
On April 20, The Kony
2012 Movement encourages supporters to
go out and “cover” cities in Kony 2012 gear,
as a demand of action
by American authorities.

Who’s Behind It
Jason Russell directed and narrated
the Kony 2012 video, sponsored
by the Invisible Children organization. Invisible Children has aided
the struggle in Africa for nine years.
Russell’s 30-minute video went viral
within a matter of days, instigating
controversy amongst viewers over
the ideas presented.

The Purpose

Its main purpose is to call attention
to the atrocities going on in Uganda
and surrounding areas. Kony 2012
hopes to stop Joseph Kony, a Ugandan warlord who “takes children from
their parents and gives them a gun
and makes them shoot and kill other
people” (according to Russell’s Kony
video). He has been in power for more
than 26 years and has abducted more
than 30,000 children and is number
one on the International Criminal
Court’s list of World’s Worst Criminals. By creating a global image of
infamy for Kony, Invisible Children
hopes to end the reign of the Lord’s
Resistance Army, or at least put a stop
to the horrors inflicted on children in
their territory.

movement. The Kony 2012 movement took the Internet by storm on
Mar. 5, going from minimal twitter
mentions to 9.8 million tweets within
a day. People posted about Kony on
Facebook and tumblr, causing total
Internet upheaval. The efforts to stop
Kony are not meant for Americans to
take action themselves, but rather to
cause action through due democratic

process. Kony 2012 supporters are
urged to contact authority figures,
policymakers, and even pop culture
icons to raise awareness. Invisible
Children hope to generate enough
support to keep US troops in Uganda.

dren, Ben Keesey, credits the scandal
to intense emotional stress.

That Awkward
Moment When...

Earlier in March, Russell was taken
into custody for public indecency,
while allegedly under the influence
of alcohol. CEO of Invisible Chil-

A
A team prepares to initiate a game of dodgeball at the third annual fundraiser at
South. Photo by Julia Salgado.

Successfully Dodging Balls to
Your Face(AIDS) For a Cause

O

Cassie Cook
Reporter

n Wednesday, Mar. 21, the
Face Aids Club of South
hosted a local dodgeball
tournament to raise money to renovate a medical center in Rwanda
that will provide treatment for people suffering from AIDS. Dodgeball teams contained six participants, with an optional seventh
substitute. The tournament was
held at South, and all high school

students from any school were
allowed to compete. Local businesses donated Jamba Juice coupons and donuts for concessions.
Along with these, Face Aids also
sold $5 pins that were made by
patients in Africa.
“We raised about $150, and it
did seem like everyone that entered had a good time,” Carson
Adams ‘13 said. “We would really like to talk up the hype about it
as well, since we plan on running
it again next year.”

s many news media stations
have denoted, gas prices
have skyrocketed, resulting in record breaking prices during
the past few years. The cost to fill
up a car’s tank ranges from $40 to
$200 depending on the vehicle. The
question many are asking is: why
exactly are fuel prices so high?
Oregon’s current average gas
price peaks around $4.10. California hold the position for the record
high, with a gallon of gas costing
$4.21. Idaho stands in last place
with the amount ranging from
$3.40 - $3.63. These high prices
are caused by the high prices of oil

which is 55% the price of gasoline.
The US uses about a quarter of the
world’s oil and we receive it from
the OPEC and Iran. The OPEC is a
group of 12 oil producing countries
that include Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC had
a goal of keeping oil at around $70
per barrel, any higher prices forces
other countries to drill new fields
which is too expensive to open
when prices are low. Currently, oil
is $100 a barrel, $30 above the ideal
price. On average, Americans use
20 million oil barrels per
day, two billion dollars
worth of oil products.
The US government

stores about 700 million barrels for
time of crisis.
Gas prices are not only affected
by crude oil, but by different seasons
and rates of distribution. During the
summer, when the weather is both
warm and enjoyable, people tend
to drive more. Due to the increase
in purchase, gas prices rise. Occasionally, if distribution lines are disrupted or are down for maintenance,
gas prices can increase even if oil
prices are low. The price of oil is dependent upon demand and supply, a
predicament that is currently a f fective every community
throughout the
nation.

Past Gas Prices Per Gallon
1950 - $.27

1960 - $.31

1970 - $.57

1980 - $1.20

1990 - $1.15

2000 - $1.95

2010 - $3.00

Clypian.com

2 News

April 9, 2012

Superintendent Tackles the School Budget Deficit

O

The fact is that budget cuts have been
steadily increasing since 2003. Only
recently in the 2011-2012 school
year have there been dramatic cuts
in spending on teachers, administration,
school
maintenance
a n d
support
to students
along
with increases
in class
sizes.
After
From left to right: Nancy MacMorris, Betty Pataccoli, Chris Brantley, Sandy Husk form the pannel for the budget cut
listenmeeting. Photo by Yuliya Boyalskaya
ing to
staff feedback for the 2011-2012
school year, the general consensus seems to be that class sizes,
programs and technology in
schools must be protected for the academic

success of the students. Surprisingly, there has been an emphasis on a
proposed increase in spending on
technology for additional technical
support in the classroom. However,
the proposed reductions for next
year target concessions, salaries
and benefits, supplies and materials,
transportation, and security services
for schools. Staff will have to be
reduced again and class sizes will
increase.
“It is a sad day when you think
only 20 million is good news. But
we’ve been trying to improve, have
a smile on our faces and stay positive,” Husk said.
The question is, how will these
new changes affect student achievement? In spite of the history of budget cuts, there has been steady improvement in student achievement
in the past 5-6 years, and this is the
most important thing. Despite the
bleak outlook in this economically
unstable time, it is important to remain hopeful towards the future.

n Jan. 27, graduation data released by the Oregon Department of Education showed that
the Salem-Keizer Public School District
is making progress toward their vision of
every high school student completing a
high school education. Salem-Keizer’s
graduation rate for the 2010-11 school
year was 69.65 percent, beating the state
average of 67 percent. The increase is
also 3.97 percent higher than last year’s
graduation rate. The state’s target rate
is 65 percent, and it will increase to 67
percent in 2011-12. The dropout rate decreased almost 3.5 percent over the last
four years, and remained essentially the
same in 2010-11. Of the total 458 dropouts in the district, 37 are currently reenrolled, two have earned regular diplomas, 11 have earned GEDs and one has
earned a certificate of attainment.

“There are no easy cuts, but our
goal has always been to support
academic achievement, and we will
do it whether it is harder to do or
easier to do,” Husk said.
It is apparent that an agreement
will not be reached until members
of the community will reach a compromise.
“We will listen to public testimony on the upcoming dates and if we
receive positive feedback and reach
an agreement, the proposed changes
will be implemented for the following school year,” Chris Brantley,
district board member said.
Clearly, the budget proposal is
still in its early stages and no official decisions have yet been made.
There is still much to be negotiated and all community members
are welcome to provide testimony
to the Budget Committee about the
proposal at upcoming public hearings on April 23, 24 and 25 at 6:00
p.m. at Student Services.

Updates on District
Changes:
For more
information on
the litweracy
meeting at
McKay on Mar.
10 and updates on
the school class
schedule, check
out clypian.com.
Photo: McKay
High School
hosts the 2012
literacy meeting
for the SalemKeizer School
District. Photo by
Lex Sosa.

Culinary Team Dices Their Way To State & Nationals
Morgan Costa
Feature Editor

O

n Feb. 18, South’s culinary team
participated in the 2012 Oregon
Restaurant & Lodging Association’s ProStart High School Culinary
Championships in Portland. While there, they won first place and have
qualified for the National ProStart Student Invitational on April 2729. The members include: Jessica Harris ‘13, Kayla Lane ‘14, Evelyn
Romero ‘13, Ryan Toepfer ‘12 and Griscelda Real ‘14.
The team is excited to venture to Baltimore, Maryland where nationals will be held. The teams success is attributed to their connections outside of the kitchen . The team likes to get together and play video games
and cook for one another, building teamwork. Although they were able
to become friends so easily, they did have challenges to overcome in the
kitchen.

“We had to learn to work as a unit and knife skills. We had to work on
knife skills a lot,” Kayla Lane ‘14 said.
The culinary team has been very successful the last couple of years
and continue to prove excellent.

Menu for Nationals:

First course: King Crab on wonton towers filled with
marinated tofu and served with sauteed shiitake mushrooms
Second course: Pan-seared Oregon ling cod served on yellow
fingerling potatoes with shallots, bacon and pea cream sauce
Third course: Flourless chocolate cake infused with Tahitian
vanilla bean served with a crisp nougatine wafer, blood orange
segments, and creme and pomegranate syrup

April 9, 2012

Clypian.com

Feature 3

Activities to Put a Spring in your Step

A

Kira Martin
Reporter

s spring comes, many
teenagers find themselves
without much to do. Numerous things are available for
students to get involved in, all they
have to do is look
around. However,
a solution is near.
Look no longer.
Here are a few
good things to do
during those long
hours of boredom.

passing time, almost every South
student has seen the posters saying, “Join INK! Submit your artwork!” or “Anime club, every Friday!” or “Join the Quidditch Club
for the Quidditch World Cup!” In
the student handbook, there is a
long list of well over forty clubs,

Start a Garden

Spring comes and along with it the
opportunity to grow fresh garden
vegetables such as carrots, lettuce
and tomatoes or flowers, that are
not available in the summer. All
these vegetables take only a minimal amount of space in a person’s

Meyer or Lifesource for around
five dollars. Flower bulbs can be
bought at Home Depot.

Cooking

It is never too late to learn how to
cook or bake. Even if teenagers
might already have a wonderful
cook in the
house, it is
always fun
to
learn
the recipes
they have
been eating
and
enjoying
for years.
Teen Scene
If people
Fairly
recently,
don’t have
the Salem Public
anyone in
Library has retheir home
modeled, coming
with culiStudents hang out at a Teen Scene event afterschool.
out with a fun new Ashley Harris ‘12 prepares a submission box for the club.
nary expePhotos by Kira Martin.
branch called the
rience, it is
Teen Scene. A few
always an
things offered by Teen Scene are all ranging from Monday to Fri- yard, and if there is little or no gar- option to crack open a cookbook,
laptop and video games rentals.
day meeting days, and see a few dening space in a yard, it is only pick a recipe and try it. There
“[My favorite thing about the clubs never before heard of such a matter of minutes to clear away are many used book stores with
Teen Scene is] that they made it a as Scribbles, the new writing some sod, thick clumps of grass, cookbooks at low prices such as
whole other floor instead of a cou- club or Tea and Puzzles, which and to sprinkle some seeds on the Escape Fiction or the Paperback
ple of shelves in the kids area,” as described on South’s website, ground, then to cover the seeds in Exchange. Cookbooks range from
Megan Ashton ‘14 said.
“Expand[s] the problem solving dirt. After planted, the only worry recipes like stir-fries, pad thai
ability of individuals and groups is to water everyday and to oc- and curry to pizza, apple pie and
South Clubs
through the noble arts of jigsaw casionally weed. Seeds can be french fries.
Walking down the halls during puzzles and sipping tea.”
bought at local stores such as Fred

A Note on
a Day of
Silence
Cecilia Barajas
Reporter
“Don’t let the noise of others’
opinions drown out your own inner
voice. And most important, have
the courage to follow your heart and
intuition,” Steve Jobs said in June
2005 at Stanford University. The
idea to speak one’s mind is not always about speaking out loud with
words; in the case of the Day of Silence, saying nothing at all sends a
certain message. Actions can speak
louder than words, and the day
was all about that. Teens worldwide vowed to be silent throughout the day of April 20 to promote
anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and/
or Transgender bullying campaigns
that fight to end harassment and bullying. South’s club, the Gay Straight
Alliance club, views on differing
sexual orientation. This year, the
club will be supporting the Day of
Silence.

Spring Traditions Around the World
Tyler Norbury
Reporter
There are many different traditions for the season of spring besides
Christianity’s Easter and Judiasim’s Passover, the more well known of
spring holidays. There are still many other traditions celebrated worldwide. From Northern Europe to the Far East, across a large array of
religions, cultures, people and places, spring is celebrated in one way
or another. Here are a few you might not have known about:
Russia: Maslenitsa is celebrated as a time of the return of light and
warmth. It is celebrated about seven weeks before Easter, during the
season of Lent. Meat, fish and dairy products are prohibited. A big
festival is held to enjoy these products before Lent, a bonfire is made
and leftover food is tossed in. The ashes are
spread
in the fields to fertilize the crops.

China: An ancient custom is to balance eggs on the day of the March
equinox to bring good luck and prosperity.
India & Nepal: Holi, the Festival of Colors. This Hindu festival is
celebrated by people throwing colored powder and water at each other to celebrate Spring. Bonfires are lit the day before on days known
as Holika Dahan or Chhoti Holi.
Spain: In the city of Valencia, a huge festival is held consisting of
the consumption of Paellas, a traditional rice dish, bullfighting, and
la despertà, the wake up call, which begins the day of festivities.
Japan: A week of Buddhist services known as Higan that takes place
on the spring equinox. It is a time to remember the dead by cleaning
and decorating the graves of the deceased and reciting sutras.
Pakistan: Basanth, the first day of spring on the Muslim calendar.
Boys partake in kite-fighting contests by putting powdered glass
on their kite strings and attempt to cut the other boy’s kite
strings.
Ghana: The Effutu people make a special offering
to the god Panche Otu with a deer hunting festival known as Aboakyere. Two teams of males
wear bright costumes and compete to bring
the first live deer to the chief.
Iran: Festival of No Ruz, which means
“new day” a time of hope and rebirth.
A lot of cleaning is done, broken items
are repaired, homes are repainted,
and fresh flowers are gathered and
displayed.
Thailand: A three day water festival on April 13-15 for Songkran, the
Buddhist new year. Parades feature
large Buddha statues that spray water. In smaller villages children throw
water at each other. This is similar to
the Muslim religion being that spring
is the new year.
Germany: A tradition there is to paint
eggs and place them into a basket for Osterhase, the Easter Bunny, to hide around
the house. Another tradition is to light a bonfire on Easter Sunday to welcome the sun and
spring.
England: May Day celebration, children dance
around poles with ribbons hanging from them
called maypoles. The dancing will wrap the ribbons
tightly around the pole to celebrate the return of Spring.

Duct tape across the mouth is a common
symbol for the Day of Silence. Photo by
Julia Salgado.

“[The Day of Silence] is a way
to show we are standing up for ourselves and making a difference,”
a member of GSA, Bryan Bacon
‘13, said. “It’s a social event that
not many people know about. It’s
bound to have an effect on everyone
someday.”
Anyone can participate in the
Day of Silence. The Day of Silence
is not intended to point out specific
people and judge them. Mahatma
Ghandi supported harmony when
he said, “Unity to be real must stand
the severest strain without breaking.”
In 2003, Adam Elwood, a graduate from South, informed the Gay
Lesbian and Straight Education
Network about his experience of
the Day of Silence at South. He
was the president of South’s GSA at
the time, and led his group through
ways to celebrate. According to Elwood, about 110 students took part
in the day and vowed to be silent.
Even several teachers joined in to
support the day by wearing stickers,
but they could not be silent.
The overall purpose of the Day
of Silence is to address the issue
of teens being bullied. On the Day
of Silence, those who are homosexual, heterosexual, bi-sexual, and
transgendered unite to raise awareness for bullying others due to their
sexual orientation. Much like Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech said to
judge a person by the “content of
their character”, not by what contrasts between two people. Every
year, the Day of Silence has acted as
a reminder of the dangers of bullying, and to hopefully help prevent it.

Clypian.com

4 Feature

April 9, 2012

Some Facts About 4/20
Victoria Schmidt
News Editor

When: On April 20, smokers across the world unite in celebration

of marijuana, a holiday renowned for its controversy and juvenile
delinquency.
Who: A group of five San Rafael High School students, known as
the Waldos, coined the term in 1971.
Why: In the fall of 1971, harvest time, the Waldos obtained word
of a Coast Guard service member who could no longer tend his
plot of pot plants near the Point Reyes Peninsula Coast Guard station. A treasure map in hand, the Waldos began their search.
Where: The Waldos agreed to meet at the statue of Louis Pasteur
outside the school at 4:20, after football practice to begin their hunt
for the unattended weed.
“We would remind each other in the hallways we were supposed

to meet up at 4:20. It originally started out
4:20-Louis and we eventually dropped the
Louis,” Waldo Steve told Ryan Grim of the
Huffington Post.
The group of high school students failed
to find the patch, but the term caught on
and spread like wildfire across the United
States.
“I could say to one of my friends, 420,
and it was telepathic. He would know if I
was saying, ‘Hey, do you wanna go smoke
some?’ Or, ‘Do you have any?’ Or, ‘Are
you stoned right now?’ It was kind of telepathic just from the way you said it,” Steve
said. “Our teachers didn’t know what we
were talking about. Our parents didn’t
know what we were talking about.”

03-12-2012/Genaro Molina/U.S. News Pot Masters 1LA/MCT Campus

Earthquake! Earthquake! Q&A with Stephen Thorsett

I

Tyler Norbury
Reporter

n 2006, South underwent the Federal
Emergency Management Agency’s Rapid
Visual Screening, which is a quick test to
determine whether or not a building would be
hazardous in an earthquake. South received a
100 percent collapse potential.
“Unfortunately, we’re 100% overdue for an
earthquake,” Mark Norbury, Registered Geologist
and Registered
Environmental
M a n ager, of
Xavier
Environmental
said.
South
Salem
H i g h
School
would,
unfortun a t e l y,
collapse, denali.gsfc.nasa.govdtamseismic
along
with North Salem High School, Parrish Middle School and four other Elementary Schools
in the Salem-Keizer School District, three of
which are over 100 years old. But there is an
upside.
The upside is that recently Senate Bill 1566
has become a law. This bill requires that the
State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries to maintain a website related to the
seismic risk category related to public schools.
The bill passed the Oregon State Senate Feb.
17, 30 to 0 and passed the Oregon House of
Representatives on Feb. 27, 46 to 14, which
means it will be made into a law. This bill will
go into effect on July 1, 2012.

One way the State of Oregon is trying to
prepare schools across Oregon for a potential
earthquake is via a $20 million grant, but no
Salem-Keizer schools have received any of the
grant money. This is very unfortunate because
of a long overdue earthquake. This earthquake
will be caused by the Cascadia Subduction
Zone, where the North American and Jaun de
Fuca tectonic plates overlap each other and
build tension. Researchers have found that
Cascadia causes an earthquake about every

250 years.
“It has been just over 300 years since Cascadia’s last earthquake and it is going to be big,
about magnitude nine earthquake,” Norbury
said.
Japan’s earthquake last year was magnitude
8.9 and their building codes are far more stricter than those in Oregon, and despite Japan’s
stricter codes they still suffered major damage.
“Salem has many unreinforced masonry
buildings that will collapse,” Norbury said.
The best way to prepare for a potential quake
is food, water and shelter for yourself and family. “This earthquake is not a matter of if it will
happen, but when it will happen,” Norbury
said.

South Alum Becomes New
President of Willamette

Courtney Gould
Reporter

Clypian: What is your favorite memory from your years at South?
Stephen Thorsett: I was the first ninth grader at South. I was there when it changed
from a three year school to a four year school. It was an interesting time to be coming because half the school was new. South grew a ton
that year. So it was a fun time and it seemed like I was
involved in a whole lot so a lot of my memories were getting there early for marching band and staying until late at
night for football games. I was involved in band and the
debate team and I was the treasurer of the student council
and ran the concession stand at football games.
C: What was your favorite subject?
ST: Well, math is the subject I was best at and I enjoyed it,
but I think my favorite subject was English. I took three
English classes my senior year, which were AP English,
World Literature and I took the speech class.
C: How is Willamette different from USC?
ST: It’s a lot smaller. Santa Cruz had about 17,000 students and Willamette has about 2,500. There were differ- Stephen Thorsett in his senior
ent kinds of graduate students. There was no law school year at South. Photo via the
1983 Sword&Shield
and no business school at Santa Cruz, and there was no
stand alone education school. There are no PhD programs
here. Willamette is much more concentrated on quality undergraduate study than UC
Santa Cruz.
C: What motivated you to come back to Oregon?
ST: It was a great chance to come home. I have always thought of myself as being
a northwestener. My family is really from Washington. My parents were all born in
Washington and my grandparents were born in Washington. My parents moved to Oregon, but the northwest as a whole has always been really attractive to me. Willamette
is a great institution. It’s great to be back around family. Since I left high school I
haven’t really seen my family. My parents are still in the house I grew up in.
C: Your father was a professor at Willamette. Did that have any influence on your desire to be President here?
ST: It certainly meant that I knew Willamette. It certainly had something to do with
my choice of career because I knew what college was like. People would ask what I
wanted to do and I would say a college professor.
C: What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?
ST: My greatest accomplishment? Probably getting married and having a daughter.
The family piece is really important to me. Professionally the most import things I’ve
done were at USC. I haven’t been here long enough to do much yet. I was the dean
there at a time when the campus was growing very fast. Something like a quarter of the
faculty of sciences there were hired by me. It was an opportunity to shape a staff that
was very young. It’s an impact that lasts a long time and shapes institutions. It has the
potential to affect thousands of students. That’s why I made the switch from science to
administration. You can make it easier to be successful and amplify your own success.

April 9, 2012

Clypian.com

Yuliya Boyalskaya
Reporter

College Elitism Creates Controversy

I

t is widely known and accepted that going
to college and earning a degree will help
secure a good job and future. Almost every
student is encouraged to apply to a college and
pursue the career they want in life, and it seems
that this is the only pathway to financial success.
However, the Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum recently set off controversy
when he attacked the American school system
as “indoctrination mills,” calling President
Obama a “snob” for urging all Americans to go
to college.
While the irony lies in the fact that Santorum actually has a higher degree than Obama,
there is some truth to his seemingly bombastic
criticisms. While going to college is not a bad
thing and an education is valuable, urging every American to go to college may be unrealistic. College is expensive, and the truth is that
in today’s economy, a college degree does not
necessarily guarantee a good job. Many wonder
if it is still worth it to accumulate a lifetime of
debt for a degree that is not in demand for the
job market.
“I believe that everyone should be given an
equal opportunity to attend college, and that
means either lowering the costs or making more
funds available for students,” Karyna Cutting
‘12 said. “That being said, college isn’t for everyone, and trade schools or alternative education routes should be made available. However,
everyone should have at least a comprehensive
high school education. This is a basic necessity
to be a marginally informed citizen.”
There are people who have had connections
and a set of skills and desires which never included college, and they have been successful.
While these stories are inspirational, they are
still rare and no one should count on financial
success with alternatives to college. Statistically, people with a college degree do earn more
than people with a high school diploma.
Consensus.gov revealed that over an adult’s
working life, those with a high school diploma
on average earn 1.2 million, those with a bachelors twice that, and those with a masters 2.5
million. While a portion of those life earnings
will be spent paying off college debts, it would
seem that those with a college degree are more
financially successful.

Opinion 5

Are Rising Gas Prices
Worth the Worry?

T

Yuliya Boyalskaya
Reporter

his spring, gas prices in Oregon have risen to about
$4 dollars per gallon, while
the average in the country is about
$3.81. and there is no doubt that this
not only impacts student drivers but
their parents, local businesses, and
everyone's wallets. It is common
knowledge that gas prices have been
steadily increasing since 2000, but
how high do gas prices have to go
until we begin to decrease our consumption of gas?
Parents and students have already
started cutting back on gas--taking
the bus, carpooling and riding their
bikes to school and work, or simply
buying more fuel efficient cars and
in doing so, saving themselves hundreds of dollars. For many people
with long commutes or hectic schedules, most of these options are not as
easily obtained.
“Personally, having to pay higher
prices for gas upsets me because
I'm not able to drive myself places
without paying a significant amount
of money,” Bailey Garfield ‘13 said.

“Altruistically, I appreciate high
gas prices because when prices are
higher, the demand for alternate energy fuel sources goes up, as does
the supply, which helps us move as
a culture to a more environmentallyefficient lifestyle.”
At the beginning of March, an
AAA survey found that 84% of
drivers have changed their driving
habits in response to the recent gas
price increase. 60% have adopted
the most popular method of saving
gas by combining trips and errands.
In other words, there have not been
very significant cutbacks and while
the prices are high, they have not
dramatically lowered the overall US
consumption of gas.
The highest the price ever recorded was the Summer of 2008, ranking in at $4.12 per gallon. It seems
that the prices would need to reach
an all-time high for there to be any
real changes in people’s lifestyles
by either cutting back on spending
in other areas or stop buying gas
altogether. However, as a student it
would be much smarter to carpool
or take a bus to school or work if
schedules or commutes allow it.

W

hat happens to your
body when you die?
Although a morbid
thought, some people are unaware
that they have more choices than
they might have thought such as
cremation, burial, or full body
donation to science. A less drastic
option would be that others request all viable tissues of their being, be donated to those in need.
Advancements in technology
have allowed medical personnel
the ability to transplant organs,
eyes and tissue more successfully
than ever. In essence organ donors
‘live longer’. According to
a recent statistic, donatelifenw.org reports that 70%
of Oregonians 18 years
and older are registered
donors.
Despite the positive
connotation in the statistic, the demand for those
in need of a transplant is
increasing everyday; on
any given day, 18 people
will die awaiting an organ
transplant in the United
States. Although all major
organized religions commend organ and tissue

Brian Eriksen
Chevron sold Regular gasoline for $4.09 on April 2, 2012. Photo by
Julia Salgado.

The Truth About Donating Organs
Rachal Meza Rojas
Sports Editor

donation and even acknowledge
it as an act of charity, there are
many people with the mindset
that being a donor is like playing
God. Who are we to extend the
lives that would have normally
expired? This argument however,
is made on the basis that someone
with a preventable disease would
die without the intervention of a
transplant. Some argue that they
would feel more open to donation
however, if someone was suffering from a terrible accident.
Discrimination of one’s sexual
orientation limits gay men from
being tissue and organ donors
based on the 1994 Public Health
Service policies for preventing

transmission of HIV through human tissue and organs. In December, MSN reported, “The
1994 guidelines exclude certain
groups as donors, including men
who have had sex with other men
within the past five years, people
who have used IV drugs or exchanged sex for money or drugs
in the past five years, hemophiliacs, those exposed to HIV, and
people who have had sex with
anyone in those categories. They
also limit people who have been
incarcerated.” Again, a controversial topic in that the “guidelines”
prohibit gay men from donating
if they have multiple partners but
does not exclude straight men and

women as well as other groups
with the same behaviors.
Although reasons not to be
a donor tend to revolve around
highly disputable topics, reasons
to be a donor characterize quality.
People donate with the intention
of saving another human’s life
and do so with the desire to help
others. Similar individuals argue
that since they will not be using
their organs, someone’s life could
be extended due to their generosity. Yet another reason to be a donor is to begin filling the demand
and need for organs and other tissues. All in all, these points are
made on the premise that such individuals want to leave the world
a better place than when
they entered it.
By signing up with the
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) individuals
15 years of age or older
can sign-up to have there
license, permit or identification card coded with the
letter ‘D’ or by going online to donatelifenw.org;
or even requesting a paper
form by calling (800) 4521369 to register as an organ, eye, and tissue donor.
Graph: donatelifenw.org

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Copyright 2012
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his is a constantly changing
world. That is a fact abundantly apparent in trends
across the globe. Now, the U.S.
governm e n t
does not
just go
to war
to protect oil
investments, but to protect democratic
freedoms, such as in Egypt and
Libya.
In this day and age, people want
to feel like they have a say, even

amid a horde of seven billion people vying to have their voice heard.
It seems the world has gotten to a
point where it is no longer necessary to merely fight for selfish purposes, but for the rights of the people at large. This zeitgeist paired
with the digital age has resulted in
Slacktivism. According to Urban

to fix a problem.”
Slacktivism is the new brand of
getting involved. Now, it is as easy
as clicking a “like” button or sharing a link. Social media is the new
fad in philanthropy. Making a difference is literally one click away-in theory.
The issue of judging the idea of

does someone get involved in this
day and age? It is difficult to say. To
really make a difference in a cause,
a person has to have access to large
amounts of money, time, or both.
Excess money allows one to make
substantial donations to organizations such as Invisible Children,
and excess time allows for actual

Dictionary, Slacktivism is “the act
of participating in obviously pointless activities as an expedient alternative to actually expending effort

Slacktivism is that it is hard to give
a solution or another option to the
“pointless activities.” What comes
to mind is a major question: how

physical interaction with the cause
itself. Excluding about that top 1 or
2% of the population, most people
do not have excessive amounts of

The Disappearance of Ethics

E

Kayla Rigsby
Opinion Editor

ones with an interesting correlation between
the need to lie and the age group. 51% of teenagers (17 and under) said yes, and the results
steadily lowered with each age group, all the
way down to 10% for those 50 and older.
Teenagers are experiencing the beginning
of being truly responsible for themselves for
the first time, that combined with the fact that
the part of the brain controlling reasoning and
problem solving it only logical to assume that
teenagers will make mistakes and it will be
hard to stay perfectly ethical. Yet even though
teenagers have those excuses it is important to
remember that the person we are today makes
the person we will be tomorrow.

thics are not valued as they once were.
According to a survey from the Josephson Institute of Ethics in 2009, 85% of
the people who took the survey who were under
18 believe that kids are more likely to lie, cheat
or steal today than they were 20 years ago. It is
easy to believe that, when what today’s society
values now is not honesty or integrity, it is winning and being ‘successful’. But if that success
is at the cost of personal morals, then is it really
worth it?
It is easy to forget morals and what is right
when the immoral thing is
easier. After all, cheating
on a test seems like such an
easy thing that does not matter in the long run. And once
someone decides to throw
out their moral code for one
thing then the next time it is
just that much easier to forget their conscience. Ethics
are not something to pick up
or drop off when it is convenient. Morals define who a
person is.
It seems that each generation is caring less about values and ethics. In the same
survey by Josephson when
asked the question if they beJosephson Institute of Ethics takes a survey every two years on the
lieve one has to lie or cheat at
ethics of teenagers. These are a few of the results from their most recent
‘Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth’ is from 2010 and surveyed
least occasionally in order to
over 40,000 high school students. From charactercounts.org
succeed and the results were

spare cash lying around waiting to
be donated; and those without fulltime careers are the only ones with
time to kill.
Movements like Kony 2012
make people feel like they are
making a difference. The question
is if it will have an actual impact.
This form of Slacktivism is effective in
spreadi n g
awareness,
b u t
p e r haps
not so
much in instigating action. It seems
that we shall just have to wait until
April 20 to see if anything comes
to fruition of Cover the Night.

No Sleep Because of
School’s Early Start?
The common complaint explained

E

Tyler Norbury
Reporter

very morning students can be seen
walking through the halls of South
like lifeless husks. This is most
likely because they are getting up earlier
than their parents, after staying
up later than them as well.
Many students
feel that school
should
start
later, times
c h a n g ing from
student to
student. But
when is the
perfect time
for school to
start?
T h e
main reason teenagers stay up
later than
healthy for
one getting
up at 6 a.m. is
because of the
internal clock
that regulates
their sleep cycle. For children,
the internal
clock causes sleepiness around eight p.m.
“Teens have a biological sleep pattern which moves toward later times for
sleeping and waking--so it is normal to
not feel sleepy until after 11 p.m.” South
Health teacher Anthony Stearns said.
All teenagers have different needs in
terms of amount of sleep required.
“Teens need about 9 1/4 hours of sleep
per night to function best, some only require 8 1/2,” Stearns said.
Shows on television that are aimed towards the teen and young adult audience
usually start around nine or ten p.m. and
will last around 30 minutes to an hour. So
these teens will be heading to bed around
11 p.m. Assuming they fall asleep immediately, if these students get up around
six o’clock, that would amount to about
seven hours of sleep, below the recommended time. Not enough sleep means
tired students, and tired students will
generally mean bad grades. The perfect
time should be around 8:30 a.m. so students can get that extra hour of sleep they
desperately need.

According to Stearns, it is not good to
alter sleep schedules between weekends
and the week. Some other things he recommends to get the best sleep possible is
to keep the sleeping area cool and dark,
no exercise, food, drink, especially caffeine, or any stimulating activities right
before bed. Research by the
University of Minnesota
shows that later
start times would
improve
attendance and
grades, and
that the optimum start
time is around
eight a.m.
“In
our
community
though, transportation
of students
from K-12
is a critical
piece of the
puzzle,” Stearns said.
It turns out
that though starting
later would show
improvements it
may
not be possible
to work around transportation schedules,
and with after school activities the participants in these activities would have to
stay later after school and that will make
it harder for students to watch younger
siblings after school, and less convenient
for parents to pick the students up.

Did You Know?

The teenage brain is still
asleep at 8 a.m. no matter
what time they wake up
Sleep is as important as
the air you breathe, the
water you drink and the
food you eat.
It is impossible to get
used to less sleep.
Creativity and problem
solving are directly linked
to having enough sleep.

April 9, 2012

Clypian.com

Sports 7

Tennis Season Springs with a Fresh Start
New Facilities

Boys

Cassandra Cook
Jessica Bohnstedt
Reporters

The boys’ tennis teams started
off a new season with multiple
changes. One of these changes is
the additional courts located here
at South. With them, the boys no
longer have to exclusively use the
ones at Bush Park. Also due to
the new courts, boys’ team now
practices every day from 2:45
South’s tennis courts have been renovated, allowing the school’s. p.m.-4:30 p.m. at the four bush
park courts and South’s two new
Photo by Julia Salgado.
courts.
“The tennis courts have been a tremendous blessing allowing 4-8 kids, singles or doubles, to play 3 whole
sets in a practice, something we haven’t been able to do for years. They will be able to mimic a tough match
every day,” coach Todd Bobeda said.
Girls placed fourth in districts last year.
This year they’re going to try and place better.
“My goals are for the athletes to have fun,
play from their hearts, learn a lot more about
tennis and love this sport for life,” Fabiana
told us.
This year’s senior captain is Rachel Heringer ‘12. Key players this year are Sarah
Nielsen ‘14, Courtney Hammagren ‘14, and
Katie Reeder ‘12. Last year the team lost
quite a few seniors, this year will be a good
experience for all the underclassmen that are
on the team now.
“The key to the game is to not set any limits, always strive to do your best,” Heringer
said.

Girls

Rachel Heringer ‘12 swings a forehand during a meet at
McNary. Photo by Morgan Costa.

Jennifer Branson
Reporter

The Scoop on the New Golf Coach

Clypian: What made you decide to
start coaching boys’ golf?
Matt Smith: There are so many reasons, but the main two would have to
be that I’ve always loved golf, and I
also coach soccer. So by stepping up
for also coaching golf I get to teach
another intense sport at South.
C: Have you ever coached or played

golf before?
MS: No, I haven’t coached golf before, but I have played for a long
time, and I played in high school.
C: When did you start playing?
MS: Well, I’ve been playing forever it seems like, but around the
time that I was six years old was when I first showed interest in
the sport.
C: How does your team train?
MS: We usually go to Creekside about three times a week. Most
of the boys on the team have gotten memberships there so that they
can practice whenever they wish to, without many restrictions.
C: Do you have key players or team captains?
MS: Returning Varsity players are Travis Samuels ‘12 and Matt
Paluska ‘14. As of now Travis is our #1 spot and is looking to compete for the district championship this year. He is also team captain.
In addition to these two returners, we have two freshman making
a strong case to be top contenders in the district this year. They are
Halden Jensen and Tim Slama. We also have an exchange student
from Holland named Duncan Wichmann. He is a solid player and
is excited to contribute to the team.
C: What are your goals for the team this season?
MS: Even though we are a very young team, I expect us to be very
strong in league this year and we are definitely going to fight hard
for the district championships this year.
C: How has coaching been so far?
MS: It has been very smooth so far. I am starting to connect with
the guys and they are recognizing that I have a love for the game
and have lots of coaching experience to add as well. We are a team
with lots of excitement for the year and much of my role is making
sure we are not only ready physically, but more importantly we are
mentally ready for what lies ahead.
C: How has Mr. Parker leaving affected the team?
MS: Parker did a great job as coach last year, and left me a great
setup so I am just going to build off of this and have fun doing it.
C: Do you guys have any mottos for your team?
MS: We don’t have an official motto yet, because we are such a
young team, but I believe that we’d go by South’s own motto, Excellence.

JV player Tin Lee ‘14 prepares for a practice serve during
practice at the new facilities. Photo by Nichele Herdon.
This year coach Bobeda aims to win district and place top five
in state.
“Last year we got third for the first time in 40 years and I
am hoping to repeat that performance. I don’t have anything to
change other than beating Sprague,” Bobeda said.
“We are looking really good this year. With enough practice
and determination this could be the year we take down Sprague,”
Jason Lintner ‘12 said.
This year’s varsity captains are Riley Wulf ‘12, Lintner and
Jake Hart ‘13, and star players include Collyn Erion ‘14, Wulf,
Evan Tatro ‘13, Luke Knospe ‘13, Jacob Kompolt ‘14, Santi Dieguez ‘13, Hart, Lintner and Gordon Burnham ‘15.
“The secret to South’s success is that we focus on supporting our teammates and sportsmanship. The winning comes later,”
Hart said.

A Look at the Blazers’ Season
Travis Sameuls
Game Day Editor

point guard Jonny Flynn and center Hasheem
Thabeet, both talented, young athletes who came
out early in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft
fter the NBA trade deadline on Mar. 15, with potential for greatness. Forward Gerald Walthe Portland Trail Blazers’ management lace was also in the trade mix, getting sent to the
made many big decisions concerning the New Jersey Nets in exchange for center Mehmet
way their franchise is going to move forward over Okur and forward Shawne Williams. Allen and
the next few years. It looks as if the Blazers are Miller were both in the agreement with the trades,
starting over again. President
explaining that they are tryLarry Miller and owner Paul Will the decisions made at the ing to set themselves up for
Allen called the shots that trade deadline prove to be a the draft and a chance to reThursday, starting off by fir- better financial move for the build their team for the seaing the Blazer Head Coach Blazers going into the draft sons to come.
After Greg Oden’s bad
Nate McMillan and releasing
for future seasons?
performance
these past few
the Blazers 2007 No. 1 overseasons,
losing
Brandon
Roy
and
having
the team
all pick, Greg Oden, who averaged over seven restruggle
throughout
the
season,
The
Blazers
are
bounds and nine points per game in his 82 games
now
three
games
below
500
and
are
seeded
11th
as a Blazer. McMillan was coaching his sixth season with the Blazers and left with 266-269 record. in the Western Conference, but are still in playoff
Larry Miller explained his decisions, saying it was contention with only three and a half games be“challenging hind the current 8th seed Denver Nuggets.
Do the Blazers have enough firepower in Labut unavoidMarcus
Aldridge and currently struggling Rayable.”
mond
Felton
to even attempt to push and make
The team
traded vet- the playoffs? A legitimate guess is “no.” This
eran
cen- team has struggled in close games all year, having
ter Marcus the worst record in the NBA for games decided by
Camby
to five points or less. It seems like the team is out of
the Houston gas. It would be a shock to see the Blazers seal a
Rockets for playoff spot.

A

Clypian.com

8 Sports

April 9, 2012

South Salem Dance Team performs during a run through while at State Championships. Photo by Debbie
Grenz. (Deborah LeSavage).
outh Salem Dance participated in the Oregon School Activities
Samantha GraingerAssociation (OSAA) State Championships on Mar. 16 and 17 at
Shuba
the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. They perCopy-Editor
formed a combination of lyrical and hip-hop with Wiz Khalifa’s “When
I’m Gone,” “Bass Cannon” by Flux Pavillion and “Bass Down Low”
Rachal Meza Rojas
by the Cataracs. The team worked hard to perfect their theme titled
Sports Editor
“When the Bass Drops Our Hearts Beat”, using the idea that the hip-hop would make the
dancers come alive. Coach and choreographer Christy Rogers said, “This year has been
an incredible leap forward for this team. We
have grown in numbers but we have grown
together that much more.”
Dance Team ended a lengthy seven-month
season reaching its goal of qualifying for
State with a score of 65.72, and also setSouth Salem Dancers make their way onto the Rose Quarter ting a new South Dance record with a score
stage during State. Photo by Debbie Grenz (Deborah of 71.33 at a competition at Sprague High
School.
LeSavage).

S

Fencing captain Ray Clark ‘12 discusses
fencing in high school.

Clypian: What does fencing mean to you?
Ray Clark: Fencing is a fascinating sport with deep
history which is enjoyable to play as well as study.
C: Who is your fencing role model?
RC: Inigo Montoya
C: How have you seen the fencing program, and
South’s perspective of fencing, change during your
time at South?
RC: In the beginning, fencing was a second class
sport that received virtually no funding or respect
from the school, and now fencing is a second class
sport that receives virtually no funding or support
from the school.
C: What is crucial to a fencer (e.g. what do you need
at practice)?
RC: Honor, reflexes and a rational mind.
C: How does fencing compare to other sports?
RC: Fencing is statistically safer than any other sport,
and overall it is much more intuitive. Fencing focuses
on the individual rather than the team unit.
C: Would you say that fencing is a sort of old art
form?
RC: Fencing is very old, so yes.
C: Do people ever say that you guys are sword fighting? How does that make you feel/What would you
say to someone who said fencing is sword fighting?
RC: Well it is sword fighting.

Track and Field: Player Preview
Photos courtesy of Curt Hawkinson.

Girls’ Sprints

Anne Burnham ‘12

Boys’ Hurdles

Rory Walker ‘12

Emily Weber ‘12

Walker is competing in the 110M
Hurdles, 300M Hurdles, High Jump and
4x4. His best times are 14.9 for 110M
hurdles, 41.9 in 300M hurdles, 6’ for
High Jump. “I've been in the program
since freshman year and I love wearing
spandex,” Walker said.

Her fastest time is 5:14 for a mile. “I
started track as a fifth grader when I
ran in the JC Relays and competed
in the Santiam Track meets through
elementary. I liked to run so I decided
to go out for track,” Weber said.

Boys’ Sprints

Girls’ Hurdles

Boys’ Distance

Dustin Watson ‘12

Whitney Pitalo ‘12

Pitalo competes in 300M hurdles, 400M,
4x4 relay, and Pole Vault. Her fastest
record is 61 seconds for the 400M. “I did
track in middle school, and it gives me
something to do when soccer is not in
season,” Pitalo said.

Nichele Herndon
Reporter

Girls’ Distance Boys’ Throws

Burnham will be competing in the
4x100 relay, 100M hurdles, and Pole
Vault.
“The whole track team feels like a
family. We actually have a team chant
where we say ‘OHANA,’ which means
family in Hawaiian,” Burnham said

Watson will be competing in the
100M, 200M, 400M, Long Jump,
High Jump, Javelin, 4x100M, and
4x400M relay. “After my first meet in
sixth grade, my mom said I had a gift.
I’ve been running ever since,” Watson
said.

Fencing, with Ray Clark

South Dance Performs Both
Rounds of State Competition

Courtney Gould
Reporter

Junior Espitia ‘12

Espitia competes in the Javelin, Shot
Put, 300 Hurdles, 200M and 100M.
“I joined track so I could get faster for
football,” Espitia said

Girls’ Jumps

Janessa White ‘12

Slater Broaddus ‘13

Long distance 800M, 1500M, 3000M.
Broaddus’ fastest time is 4:30, for
1500M.

Competing in the Triple Jump, Long
Jump, and High Jump, White has
a record for Long Jump of 17’11,
and for High Jump she has a record
height is 5’3.